Stuff On My Mind....

Here are some things that are on my mind today:

1. Michael Jackson dies. Yet another premature death of a pop icon. I guess he is my generation's Elvis. Jackson was an immensely talented individual who became more and more troubled as he aged. "Troubled" may be giving him too much credit. Let's go with "nuts." How does a guy go from writing some of the best pop songs in history with the Jackson 5, to recording the #1-selling album of all-time (Thriller), to hanging out with llamas and Bubbles the Monkey? Fame, and constantly being in the public eye, can certainly do strange things to a person.

2. Michelle Bacmann won't fill out census. Speaking of "nuts," according to a cbsnews.com report, Michelle Bachmann believes the upcoming census to be "very intricate" and "very personal" and expresses concerns about ACORN's involvement in the data collection. "Why does the government need our phone numbers," Bachmann has asked. She said her family will only be indicating the number of people in the household, because "the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that." She is very concerned about how The Government will use that information and could possibly lead to people being put in internment camps. Bachmann's public statements are getting more and more "out there" with every passing week. She's even freaking out Glenn Beck, for Cliff's sake! As I said in point #1, constantly being in the public eye can certainly do strange things to a person.

3. Wolves select Rickey Rubio with first pick. Rubio, an 18-year-old point guard from Spain, has been compared to Pistol Pete Maravich. He's flashy, can pass and score, and would put fans in the seats. The only catch(es)? He requires a $6.5 million dollar buyout from his contract in Spain, which he has to pay all but $500,000, and he may not want to play in Minnesota. He's been quoted as saying "it's too cold" in Minnesota. I must say that I have grown tired of athletes saying they don't want to play in cold weather cities, (i.e. Stephon Marbury). The last time I checked, most NBA games were played "inside" arenas. Actually, I'm sure this has to do more with "market size" and endorsements. Cold weather is just a convenient excuse for these players.

Question - with the Wolves track record, what do you think the odds are that Rubio ever wears a Timberwolves jersey? The Wolves hold his rights for 4 years, so he can't go anywhere unless they trade him. He can, however, remain in Spain (where the rain falls mainly in the plains). For contractual reasons, he may have to play in Spain for a year or two before being able to afford the move to the NBA. This is not good for a franchise like the Wolves, who needs to sell tickets now. And I am not talking about the $5 tickets they are currently offering. Makes you kind of wonder about the pick, especially since they followed it up by selecting Johnny Flynn with the very next pick - another point guard. That pick makes you wonder if the Wolves expect Rubio to be playing for them in the near future. This should get very interesting.

Jeff